Tim Conibear

Role of Mutation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Development

The survival of bacteria in nature is greatly enhanced by their ability to grow within surface-associated communities called biofilms. Commonly, biofilms generate proliferations of bacterial cells, called microcolonies, which are highly recalcitrant, 3-dimensional foci of bacterial growth. Microcolony growth is initiated by only a subpopulation of bacteria within biofilms, but processes responsible for this differentiation remain poorly understood. Under conditions of crowding and intense competition between bacteria within biofilms, microevolutionary processes such as mutation selection may be important for growth; however their influence on microcolony-based biofilm growth and architecture have not previously been explored. To study mutation in-situ within biofilms, we transformed Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells with a green fluorescent protein gene containing a +1 frameshift mutation. Transformed P. aeruginosa cells were non-fluorescent until a mutation causing reversion to the wildtype sequence occurs. Fluorescence-inducing mutations were observed in microcolony structures, but not in other biofilm cells, or in planktonic cultures of P. aeruginosa cells. Thus microcolonies may represent important foci for mutation and evolution within biofilms. We calculated that microcolony-specific increases in mutation frequency were at least 100-fold compared with planktonically grown cultures. We also observed that mutator phenotypes can enhance microcolony-based growth of P. aeruginosa cells. For P. aeruginosa strains defective in DNA fidelity and error repair, we found that microcolony initiation and growth was enhanced with increased mutation frequency of the organism. We suggest that microcolony-based growth can involve mutation and subsequent selection of mutants better adapted to grow on surfaces within crowded-cell environments. This model for biofilm growth is analogous to mutation selection that occurs during neoplastic progression and tumor development, and may help to explain why structural and genetic heterogeneity are characteristic features of bacterial biofilm populations.

Phenotypic Characterization of Clonal and Nonclonal Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains Isolated from Lungs of Adults with Cystic Fibrosis

ABSTRACT The emergence of virulent Pseudomonas aeruginosa clones is a threat to cystic fibrosis (CF) patients globally. Characterization of clonal P. aeruginosa strains is critical for an understanding of its clinical impact and developing strategies to meet this problem. Two clonal strains (AES-1 and AES-2) are circulating within CF centers in eastern Australia. In this study, phenotypic characteristics of 43 (14 AES-1, 5 AES-2, and 24 nonclonal) P. aeruginosa isolates were compared to gain insight into the properties of clonal strains. All 43 isolates produced bands of the predicted size in PCRs for vfr, rhlI, rhlR, lasA, lasB, aprA, rhlAB, and exoS genes; 42 were positive for lasI and lasR, and none had exoU. Thirty-seven (86%) isolates were positive in total protease assays; on zymography, 24 (56%) produced elastase/staphylolysin and 22 (51%) produced alkaline protease. Clonal isolates were more likely than nonclonal isolates to be positive for total proteases (P = 0.02), to show elastase and alkaline protease activity by zymography (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01, respectively), and to show elastase activity by the elastin-Congo red assay (P = 0.04). There were no other associations with genotype. Overall, increasing patient age was associated with decreasing elastase activity (P = 0.03). Thirty-two (74%) isolates had at least one N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) by thin-layer chromatography. rhl-associated AHL detection was associated with the production and level of total protease and elastase activity (all P < 0.01). Thirty-three (77%) isolates were positive for ExoS by Western blot analysis, 35 (81%) produced rhamnolipids, and 34 (79%) showed chitinase activity. Findings suggest that protease activity during chronic infection may contribute to the transmissibility or virulence of these clonal strains.

Role of quorum sensing by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in microbial keratitis and cystic fibrosis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous bacterium that causes opportunistic infections in a range of host tissues and organs. Infections by P. aeruginosa are difficult to treat and hence there is interest in the development of effective therapeutics. One of the key mechanisms that P. aeruginosa uses to control the expression of many virulence factors is the N-acylated homoserine lactone (AHL) regulatory system. Hence, there is considerable interest in targeting this regulatory pathway to develop novel therapeutics for infection control. P. aeruginosa is the principal cause of microbial keratitis and of infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) sufferers, and AHL-dependent cell-to-cell signalling has been shown to be important for both infection types. However, keratitis tends to be an acute infection whereas infection of CF patients develops into a chronic, life-long infection. Thus, it is unclear whether AHL-regulated virulence plays the same role during these infections. This review presents a comparison of the role of AHL signalling in P. aeruginosa-mediated microbial keratitis and chronic lung infections of CF patients.

Type III Secretion System-Associated Toxins, Proteases, Serotypes, and Antibiotic Resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates Associated with Keratitis

The association between possession of toxin gene-related type III secretory system, protease profiles, O serotypes, and antibiotic resistance patterns was characterized genetically and phenotypically in 46 keratitis isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There was no significant difference in exoU or exoS prevalence among the keratitis strains. Distinct protease profiles were seen in isolates harboring either exoU or exoS genes. One hundred percent (13/13) of serotype E (O:11) strains contained type III secretion system–associated cytotoxin gene exoU. Multidrug resistance was identified in 4% of Australian and 29% of Indian isolates. None of the Australian isolates was resistant to ciprofloxacin. In general, the rate of multidrug resistance in the exoU positive cytotoxic and serotype E (O:11) strains was significantly higher than in exoS positive invasive strains (p < 0.01). The results suggest that multidrug resistance may be more commonly associated with the corneal isolates of P. aeruginosa having type III secretion system-associated cytotoxin gene exoU and belonging to serotype E (O:11) group.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum-sensing signal molecules induce IL-8 production by human corneal epithelial cells.

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the quorum-sensing molecules of Pseudomonas aeruginosa could induce the production of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells in vitro. Methods. A confluent monolayer of immortalized HCE cells was treated with 12.5 to 50 &mgr;M n-(3-oxododecanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone (OdDHL) or n-butanoyl-l-homoserine lactone (BHL) for 18 hours, or challenged with a wild-type P. aeruginosa PAO1 and its quorum-sensing mutants PAO-JP1 (lasI−), PDO100 (rhlI−), and PAO-JP2 (lasI−/rhlI−) for 1 hour. The levels of IL-8 in the culture supernatants were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. OdDHL stimulated the production of IL-8 in HCE cells in a dose dependent manner. IL-8 production was seen with low concentrations of BHL (12.5 and 25 &mgr;M), but not at higher levels. There was significantly less IL-8 production in the HCE cells challenged with quorum-sensing mutants compared with the wild-type strain PAO1-challenged cells. Conclusions. These findings suggest that quorum-sensing signal molecules OdDHL and BHL may directly contribute to the induction of the inflammatory response in Pseudomonas keratitis.

Characterization of protease IV expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates.

Expression of protease IV by Pseudomonas aeruginosa during ocular infections contributes significantly to tissue damage. However, several P. aeruginosa strains isolated from ocular infections or inflammatory events produce very low levels of protease IV. The aim of the present study was to characterize, genetically and phenotypically, the presence and expression of the protease IV gene in a group of clinical isolates that cause adverse ocular events of varying degrees, and to elucidate the possible control mechanisms of expression associated with this virulence factor. Protease IV gene sequences from seven clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa were determined and compared to P. aeruginosa strains PAO1 and PA103-29. Production and enzyme activity of protease IV were measured in test strains and compared to that of quorum-sensing gene (lasRI) mutants and the expression of other virulence factors. Protease IV gene sequence similarities between the isolates were 97.5-99.5 %. The strains were classified into two distinct phylogenetic groups that correlated with the presence of exo-enzymes from type three secretion systems (TTSS). Protease IV concentrations produced by PAOΔlasRI mutants and the two clinical isolates with a lasRI gene deficiency were restored to levels comparable to strain PAO1 following complementation of the quorum-sensing gene deficiencies. The protease IV gene is highly conserved in P. aeruginosa clinical isolates that cause a range of adverse ocular events. Observed variations within the gene sequence appear to correlate with presence of specific TTSS genes. Protease IV expression was shown to be regulated by the Las quorum-sensing system.